Moonshadow
by 0nce Upon My Story
Summary: Love was not something Draco Malfoy had ever envisioned for himself. But love is a funny thing. It has a way of catching even the most cynical by surprise. And that's exactly what happened to Draco Malfoy. Written for snowblazehollyleafstar for the Monthly One-Shot Exchange.


**A/N: this is my first time writing Draco/Astoria, and I do hope you all enjoy my take on them.**

**For snowblazehollyleafstar, with compliments. Thank you for your patience.**

* * *

Love was not something Draco Malfoy had ever envisioned for himself. He had always thought that his inevitable marriage would be like Aunt Bellatrix's - loveless but amicable, to someone he could work well with even if they didn't love each other.

But love is a funny thing. It has a way of catching even the most cynical by surprise.

And that's exactly what happened to Draco Malfoy.

* * *

Draco knew his mother was determined to get back into the crème de la crème of pure-blood high society, but he couldn't for the life of him see why it had to happen this way. This way being several highly uncomfortable (at least for Draco) parties in which the women whispered together about the latest scandals, and the men conversing darkly about the "disgraceful" state of the government and the "horrifying" lack of respect for pure-blood traditions.

It wasn't that he didn't like the socializing - he did, and he enjoyed dancing, provided that the girl wasn't completely useless.

It was just that it was all a pretence, all a facade.

He didn't want to mutter darkly about the state of the government - quite honestly, he thought it was ten times better now than it ever had been before. He didn't want to hear about the latest scandals - who cared if Katherine Fawley was marrying a Mudblood? He would never speak to her again, anyway. And he definitely, definitely didn't want to choose his future wife from the multitude of giggling, gossiping girls twirling about on the dance floor.

He wanted... Well, he wasn't entirely sure _what_ he wanted, but it wasn't this. Not anymore.

But who could possibly understand that? Not any of the simpering, frill-dressed figures on the dance floor, and certainly not any of the scowling men along the wall.

He was trapped in this world of dances, dark whispers, and more money than he knew what to do with - trapped behind his facade of the perfect pure-blood prince, where everyone thought they knew him and understood what he wanted, but no-one really did.

No-one else had seen the expression on Dumbledore's face on the Astronomy Tower - the kindness, the understanding. The hint of a better way for all of this.

No-one else understood that once you had glimpsed that other, better way, there was no un-seeing it. It was always there, a little voice in the back of your head, whispering that it didn't have to be like this, that there was a chance for happiness if you could only man up and take it.

But Draco knew he couldn't do that, and he despised himself for it. He was a coward, too scared to speak his mind and free himself from this bejeweled cage.

"And that expression?"

He started as a voice - a girl's voice, clear and sweet and lilting, spoke behind him.

"You look as though you've got a lot on your mind," the mystery girl continued, her voice thoughtful. "But I can't think why - you're Draco Malfoy, you should be in your element here."

He snorted, not bothering to turn and face her. "That's what everyone thinks."

The girl made a soft humming noise and tapped her fingers against the table in tune with the music, one-two-three, one-two-three. "But I'm not everyone, am I?" she asked between taps.

"Who are you, then?" he asked, too moody to entertain any silly flirting.

"Oh, I'm nobody much," she said, still tapping her rhythm. "I'm just a girl who notices things."

He turned around, curious despite himself, and got a good look at the strange girl. She was pretty in a quiet, unassuming kind of way, her long dark hair straight and silky, and her eyes a bright, intelligent green.

"A girl who notices things, eh?" he repeated, raising an eyebrow at her. "What kind of things do you notice?"

"This and that," she said evasively.

Draco snorted and turned to face the dance floor again. "Nothing, then."

It was petty and spiteful of him, he knew that, but he just couldn't be bothered to be polite to a girl he would most likely never speak to again.

"I wouldn't say that," she said, and he groaned inwardly. Why wouldn't she take offence and storm off? He didn't want to talk to her at all.

"Well, if you're so good at noticing things, how come you didn't notice I wanted to be left alone?"

He winced a little as the words left his mouth - they sounded a lot harsher than he had intended. But then again, maybe it would finally get rid of her.

"What you want and what you need are not always the same thing," she said, paradoxically.

He spun around to face her, anger flashing in his eyes. Who was this girl to tell him what he needed?

"What I need, _miss_, is for you to get as far away from me as possible," he snarled.

"That's what you _want,"_ she corrected, completely unfazed by his anger. "What you _need_ is to _talk_, Draco Malfoy, and perhaps a nice stroll in the gardens as well."

He gaped at her, momentarily speechless. How dare she -

"Come on, then," she said, grabbing his wrist and pulling him to his feet with surprising strength for one so slender.

"What do you think you're doing?" he exclaimed, yanking his wrist from her grasp and glaring at her.

She folded her arms. "I'm trying to help you."

"I don't need your help," he growled, turning his back on her.

She sighed, and he could almost hear her rolling her eyes. "Don't be ridiculous, of course you need my help."

"I most certainly do not," he snapped, whipping back round to glare at her anew.

"Drop the offended act and come with me," she said, and this time he saw her roll her eyes. "You've been wanting to get out of the party for hours now."

He opened his mouth to retort, but closed it, scowling, when he realized she was quite right. He had been waiting for a chance to escape the dreadful, stuffy ballroom.

"Men," he heard the girl mutter, shaking her head as she began to walk away, leading him towards the big double doors across the hall.

He was half-tempted to let her walk away on her own, but then she was offering him the chance to escape the likes of Valentina Shafiq, whose high-pitched giggles pierced his ears even from across the room.

Shuddering slightly, he hurried after the strange girl.

She walked quickly, and he actually had to work to keep up as she wove her way through the trees and flowerbeds of the expansive Greengrass estate.

She led him to a low bench half-hidden in a copse of beech trees overlooking the Greengrasses' large swimming pool. A soft breeze was blowing, making little ripples on the turquoise water and carrying the sweet scent of jasmine to the bench.

It was oddly peaceful - in fact, Draco couldn't remember being so peaceful since... Well, now that he thought about it, he hadn't felt this peaceful since that stolen afternoon beside the lake in his fifth year.

Water, it seemed, had a calming effect on him. And somehow, this girl had known that.

"You look happier, now," she remarked, and he started a little. She had settled quietly beside him on the bench, and he had quite failed to notice her.

That was odd. He was never that comfortable with anyone, let alone a girl he had just met. But here she was, sitting right next to him, and it felt so_ natural_ that he hadn't even taken any notice, at first.

"How do you do that?" he asked, more than a little disconcerted.

She glanced up, looking a little surprised. "Hmm? Oh, you mean this?" She gestured between them, raising one eyebrow slightly.

He nodded, still frowning a little.

The girl shrugged. "I'm not sure. I haven't... I'm not normally this comfortable with someone I barely know."

She studied him closely, tipping her head to one side, her green eyes sparkling with the reflection of the turquoise water. "But you're different, Draco Malfoy. Different, but the same."

"That makes no sense," he said, puzzled.

She lifted one shoulder, turning her bright green gaze back to the water. He felt a momentary stab of disappointment, then shook his head, angry at himself for being so ridiculous. Since when did he, Draco Malfoy, feel disappointed when a girl looked away from him?

Disgruntled with himself (and with her for making him so confused) he said grumpily, "I thought you wanted to talk."

"No, I didn't," she said evenly. "But you needed to. You still do."

He scowled at the back of her head. As a general rule, girls made no sense, but this one was worse than all the others.

"I don't need to talk," he said, letting his annoyance trickle into his voice.

"Yes, you do," she said, and he thought he heard a trace of exasperation in her lilting voice.

"What do I need to talk about, then, if you're so clever?" he asked, his exasperation matching her own.

She turned, green eyes widening, and gave him an incredulous look, which he met with a puzzled frown. The girl's eyes widened further, and then she gave an extremely unladylike snort.

"Boys can be so thick," she groaned, briefly burying her face in her hands. Her shoulders rose and fell as she drew a deep breath, then she sat up and faced him again.

"You're not happy, are you?" she said, and he gave a single sharp nod.

The girl's thoughtful gaze bored into his own. "Why is that?" she asked.

It was Draco's turn to give a one-shouldered shrug and turn away.

"You can tell me," the girl encouraged.

He snorted. "No, I can't."

"Why on earth not?" she challenged.

He blinked. That was not the answer he had been expecting. "Well, I... For one thing, you would never understand."

He sounded a lot more condescending than he had intended, but then she really was asking for it, wasn't she?

"You don't know that," she said calmly, but with a hint of steel in her tone.

"Yes, I do," he said tiredly. "You didn't do half the things I did."

Her sharp gaze softened ever so slightly. "You're right," she admitted, "but I did do... things... too." Her voice turned bitter, her eyes filling with disgusted self-loathing.

"Oh?" He was curious, no denying it. What on earth could this delicate, pretty little pure-blood princess have done to warrant such a reaction?

She studied him closely for a few seconds, then seemed to come to a decision. Taking a deep, bolstering breath, she began.

"I... have always been good at Potions and Herbology," she said, dropping her gaze so her face was in shadow. "And in my fifth year, when the Carrows were in charge at Hogwarts, I... used that to help them. I brewed the most despicable potions for them to use on Muggle-borns, and I... I didn't care."

"What changed?" he asked quietly.

She looked up at him, her gaze flinty. "I walked in on them using one of my potions on a first-year. A _first-year._ I'll never forget the look on his face."

Her face was haunted, the shadows on her delicate cheekbones standing out in sharp contrast to her fair skin and making her appear a great many years older and sadder than she was. It was a face that had seen far more than one her age ever should - quite frankly, more than anyone ever should.

He was overcome by the strangest urge to wrap her up in his arms and hold her close, to make sure nothing like that ever happened to her again.

"What happened next?" he asked, reaching out and placing his hand over hers. She looked about as surprised as he felt, but made no comment, simply drawing a deep breath.

"I smashed the vial of potion I had brought them, and said I'd never lift a finger for their cause again," she said, and he heard a hint of pride in her voice. "Then I undid the first-year's Body-Bind and told him to get back to his common room."

"The Carrows can't have liked that," he said, picturing the furious expression on Amycus Carrow's pig-like face.

The girl smirked. "They didn't. Amycus tried the Cruciatus on me, but I ducked it and ran."

"And did you ever help them again?" he asked.

She looked shocked. "Of course not."

Draco smiled bitterly. "Then you're a far better person than I."

"I'm not," she corrected bleakly. "You, at least, knew from the start what you were doing. You had no... illusions about what the war was really like."

He couldn't argue with that.

"I was so stupid and naive," she continued bitterly. "I thought they were just asking me to brew those potions because they admired my skill."

"But didn't you realise what the potions were for?" he asked, incredulous.

"I suppose I did, I just didn't want to admit it to myself. I was weak, Draco. Pathetically weak and stupid."

"You're not the only one," he admitted, running his hands through his hair and closing his eyes. Dumbledore's face flashed in his mind, and he shook his head viciously.

"At the Astronomy Tower, when I was supposed to kill Dumbledore, he was kind to me. He understood me. And just for a moment, I saw that the way we were raised was wrong, and his way was right."

Bitterness filled his voice as he went on. "But unlike you, I was too cowardly to do anything about it. I continued to serve the wrong side, even when I knew it was wrong."

"But you helped Potter," she countered.

He barked a laugh. "Hardly. That was just more cowardice on my part. I betrayed him again in the Final Battle, even after he had saved my life."

"You're right," she said, thoughtfully. "You were a terrible coward. But admitting your cowardice is the first step to bravery."

"You think so?" he asked, determinedly squashing the small flutter of hope her words caused.

She smiled a little wearily. "I know so."

"How do you do it?" he asked suddenly. "How do you live with all this?"

"Family is everything to me," she said sincerely. "Even if their beliefs are wrong, I still can't abandon them."

Draco nodded. "I can understand that. But -"

"What about when it all gets too much?" she guessed, correctly. She tipped her head to one side, her green eyes appraising. At length she gave a quick nod and smiled slightly up at him.

"You have to find a distraction, something that makes you happy in the moment, even if you know it isn't really changing anything," she explained.

He blinked. She was a strange girl, all right, but not half stupid.

"What do you do?" he asked.

She smiled, jumping to her feet. "Come on, I'll show you."

Rather to his own surprise, he followed her eagerly, half-jogging to keep up as she skipped across the lawns.

"Left here," she said, catching his hand and pulling him behind a large oak tree. He almost tripped over one of its roots, and the girl threw her head back and laughed, the sound exuberant and full of genuine happiness.

He should have been mortally offended - after all, she had just, however indirectly, mocked his Malfoy elegance and poise - but he couldn't find it in himself to be angry at her when she looked so happy.

She was beautiful like this, he realised with a little start - her green eyes lit up in absolute delight, her cheeks flushed and dimpled as she beamed up at him.

Draco realised he was smiling too, and gave himself a quick shake. He had no business to be grinning like a fool at a girl he had only just met!

But it didn't feel like he had just met her - after their conversation by the pool, he felt he knew her almost better than he knew himself.

They understood each other.

That had never happened to him before.

And, he realised with a flash of guilt, he didn't even know the girl's name.

"Er -" he began, but the girl had already skipped away again, darting between the trees as nimbly as the deer that also roamed the grounds.

Shaking his head, Draco followed her, picking his way carefully over the roots this time.

"Here we are," the girl said, surprising him.

He blinked up at the large, dark-green bush in front of them. "I feel that I'm missing something here," he said, rubbing his nose to hide his embarrassment.

"That's because you are," the girl retorted, her eyes crinkling with laughter.

Stepping forwards, she took his wrist and held his hand in front of the bush, palm up.

"Er..." he said again, more confused than ever now.

"Be patient," the girl chided, squinting up at the sky. "As soon as the moon comes out from behind that cloud... aha."

"Tori, Tori!" squeaked a little voice from on one of the broad green leaves. Draco blinked and saw a tiny moth-like girl with silvery wings perched there.

"Hello, Lyrie," the girl said, bending so she was at eye-level with the little creature. "I've brought a friend." She shook Draco's hand gently.

A gleeful smile spread across the little creature's face, and she chittered something in a high-pitched voice.

The girl blushed furiously. "No! No, Lyrie, it's not like that."

The little creature chittered again, its smile distinctly smug.

"Lyrie, please just let us in," the girl said, still blushing bright red.

"Tori," the little creature said, with a little bow at the girl. Turning to Draco, it added, "Tori-friend."

To Draco's utter astonishment, his palm began to glow silver, and the bush parted in two to form a kind of archway.

"Go on," the girl - Tori? - encouraged with a small smile. "It's quite safe, I promise."

Draco took a cautious step forward, and when nothing happened, he took another. And another, and another, until he saw -

"It's beautiful," he breathed, turning to the girl, who had followed him into the bush, with pure wonder in his eyes.

The inside of the bush was completely hollow, and had been charmed to grow in a near-perfect circle. The top was open to the night sky, and the plant's large silver flowers - visible only from inside the magical plant - glowed gently in the moonlight. On each flower sat a tiny silver man or woman, chittering contentedly to one another as they wove the plant's leaves and twigs into little chairs and tables.

"Thank you," the girl said, smiling with affectionate eyes at the tiny people on their silver flowers.

"The star-sprites are an endangered species, you know," she said, accepting a necklace made from the silvery petals with a gentle smile.

"I've never heard of them before," he admitted, starting a little as one of the sprites offered him a necklace, too.

"Take it," the girl encouraged.

Tentatively, Draco took the chain of silvery petals in his hands and looped it around his neck. It tingled slightly where it touched his skin, but in a warm, pleasant, accepting sort of way.

The star-sprites around him made contented _aww_ sounds and looked at him with approval.

"They like you," the girl said, her eyes and voice a little wistful.

"I like them, too," he said impulsively. And he was surprised to find it was true. These delicate silvery creatures with their happy chitters and instant kindness had touched his heart in a way he had never experienced before.

Looking at the star-sprites and their simple happiness, he understood what the girl meant by a distraction. Caring for the little creatures didn't really make any difference in the world, but the satisfaction it brought was more tangible, more _real,_ somehow, than any job or fancy decoration.

"Thank you," he whispered, turning to the girl with, he hoped, sincere gratitude in his eyes. "This is... incredible."

"I can teach you how to grow the moonbloom, if you like," she offered, her smile soft and understanding. "Star-sprites are drawn to it."

"I'd like that," he said, smiling back a little tentatively, but genuinely. It really was like the girl had said - something as simple as caring for a star-sprite could bring him a deeper kind of happiness than he had ever imagined. The little creatures gave everything - love, loyalty, companionship - in return for almost nothing. It was so simple, and yet so perfectly satisfying.

The girl knelt and plucked a single bright silver seed from the base of one of the flowers. It glowed gently when she placed it in his palm, curling his fingers around the smooth pod.

"Plant it at full moon and water it with moondew twice a day," the girl instructed. "Within a few months, the plant will be big enough to attract the star-sprites."

"Thank you," Draco said, and he meant it.

"I'm glad I could help," she said with a smile.

"Why did you?" he asked. After all, she had literally said she had not _wanted _to talk to him, and yet she had.

"Because I saw myself in you," she admitted, raising her eyes to meet his. "I saw you felt trapped, just like I did, and I knew I had to help."

"No-one's ever done something like that for me before," he said quietly. "It means a lot. Thank you, Tori."

"Astoria," she corrected with a slight smile. "And it's my pleasure."

"Astoria," he repeated, rather liking the way the name rolled off his tongue. "It suits you," he added, looking her up and down.

She smirked. "Thanks, I guess."

Regretfully, he looked around the bush and the gently glowing star-sprites for a last time before turning to Astoria. "I wish I could stay, but..."

"They'll be looking for you at the party soon," she supplied. "Don't worry, I understand."

"Oh, good," he said, relieved that she hadn't made some kind of a scene. But then again, why should she? From the little he knew about her, Astoria was far too level-headed for things like that.

"Just a moment," she said with a smile that said she knew exactly what he had just thought. Draco flushed.

Crouching so that she was level with one of the slightly bigger star-sprites, she began to talk to it in a low voice.

"No!" she cried suddenly. "You can't - _Lyrie!"_

"What's wrong?" he asked, concerned.

"It's nothing," she said, straightening with a scowl. "Lyrie's just being her mischievous self."

He couldn't help but notice that she was blushing again - rather fetchingly, too. "What does she want?" he asked, not liking the half-furious, half-embarrassed look that came over Astoria's face.

She took a deep breath, then met his gaze squarely. "She says she won't let us out unless we, er, kiss."

"What?!" he exclaimed, his cheeks heating. "Please tell me you're joking."

"Nope, deadly serious," Astoria said, dropping her gaze, blush intensifying. "She thought I brought you here because I, um, fancied you, and when I told her it wasn't like that, she obviously decided to take matters into her own hands."

"Er," he said eloquently, and winced, wanting to kick himself. _Stop being so bloody ridiculous - you're twenty, not twelve,_ he scolded himself.

He raked a hand through his hair, unable to meet her eyes. "So she won't let us out until we kiss?"

"No," she said, covering her face with her hands. "Merlin, Draco, I'm so sorry. I never thought -"

"There was no way you could have known," he interrupted. "You've never brought anyone else here, have you?"

At her miserable nod, he continued triumphantly, "There, see? No possible way for you to have known."

"Thanks," she said, dropping her hands to her sides with a distinctly defeated air. "It's still my fault, though."

"Hey, it could be worse," he said in an effort to cheer her up. (He'd worry about _why_ he wanted her to cheer up later - for now, he'd worry about the act itself.)

"Oh?" she said, looking up with a quirk of a smile that made him want to grin right back.

"You could have brought Goyle," he said, and she covered her mouth with her hands, looking utterly disgusted, but amused nonetheless.

"So we're doing this?" she asked, dropping her hands and raising her eyebrows at him.

"We don't have much choice, do we?"

"No," she agreed with a glare at Lyrie, who fluttered her wings innocently. Draco was not fooled, but he had to admit it was rather adorable.

"Right, then," he said, blushing anew as he caught her eye, looking away quickly.

"Sweet Merlin, but this is awkward," Astoria muttered. Taking a step forward, she put her hand on his cheek, looking directly into his eyes. Her green eyes were a lot calmer than he had expected, and filled with resolve.

"We're both adults," she said. "We've both kissed people before. So what's the big deal? Let's just get this over with."

She was right, of course.

"You're right," he informed her.

She smirked. "I know."

He chuckled and, half-unconsciously, took a step forward, closing the remaining distance between them. Astoria's breath caught, and their eyes met.

She smiled, eyes fluttering shut as he leaned forward and gently pressed his lips to hers.

The kiss was soft and slow and tender, nothing like any of his previous kisses, but somehow far more enjoyable. Astoria's lips moved in perfect sync with his own, and her skin was soft beneath his hand.

Draco couldn't have told you how long they stood there, wrapped up in each other and in the gentle perfection of their kiss. It could have been thirty seconds or thirty minutes - all he knew was that it was without a doubt the best thirty seconds (or minutes) of his life.

Eventually Astoria have a shuddery sigh and pulled back, opening her eyes and giving him a tender smile. He rested his forehead against hers, breathing in her sweet scent and reveling in the feel of her skin against his.

With a soft swishing sound, the bush slid open, and the sound of a waltz drifted over the expansive lawns.

Draco reached down and took her hand, lacing his fingers with hers and guiding her back towards the Greengrass mansion.

And Astoria smiled, resting her head against his shoulder, and he promised himself that he would keep her smile in his life, no matter what.

_Fin._


End file.
